Islamic Personalities

Ghulam Rasool Dehlvi, New Age Islam

Ghulam Rasool Dehlvi, New Age Islam

Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) epitomised his teachings of tolerance, forgiveness, mercy, co-existence and compassion towards the adherents of other religions. Conforming to the spirit of this glorious universal characteristic of the Prophet (pbuh), Muslims today must give up peddling hatred towards others, people of other religions or even atheists and wantonly declaring their own co-religionists Kafir (infidel) and Gumrah (misguided). ....

Nadeem F. Paracha

Abul Ala Maududi(1927)

In all the noise that Maududi's career as a scholar, ideologue and politician generated, what got lost was the crucial fact that unlike most of today's Islamic scholars and leaders, Maududi did not emerge from an entirely conservative background. His personal history is a rather fascinating story of a man who, after suffering from spats of existential crises, chose to interpret Islam as a political theory to address his own dilemmas. He did not come raging out of a madrasa, swinging a fist at the vulgarities of the modern world.......

Ghulam Rasool Dehlvi, New Age Islam

An objective study of Indian Sufi literature, surprisingly enough, reveals that many early Islamic figures of India who were spiritually-inclined and inspired by Sufism, are mistakenly taken today as the ideologues of Wahhabism in India. Regrettably, our collective negligence and intellectual stagnation have concealed the pioneering contributions of great Indian mystics in the pursuit of spiritual enlightenment, human welfare and common goodwill. .....

Sadia Dehlvi

Sadia Dehlvi

Abul Qasim al Junayd of the ninth century is one of the most famous of early Muslim mystics. They called him “Peacock of the Poor”, “Lord of the Group” and “Master of Masters”. A central figure in many Sufi orders, Junayd is considered the greatest exponent of the sober school of Sufism. …..

Saadat Hasan Manto

For the honour of presiding over this maiden sitting of Iqbal Day which you have bestowed upon me, I should be thanking you formally, but I am not bound by the immutable laws and formalities of nature. However, I’m perplexed visualizing the presidential chair, for so long I have been abused and criticized and today….but what didn’t the Allama Iqbal himself had to contend with? In his own time, he had to face repeated curses, in addition to charges of infidelity and heresy. When I think of this, I am somewhat relieved but the next moment I am perplexed by another conundrum which is that my love of poetry is akin to Mahatma Gandhi’s love of films. Anyway, I should take advantage of this opportunity which you all have given me.....

Murtaza Razvi

Sir Muhammad Iqbal

Iqbal’s identification with and his concern over the fate of all colonised nations of the East—not India alone—by mighty powers of the West called for a wider shift in the entire power paradigm that was in place in his time. This he sought by transcending the relatively smaller canvas of India, which had historically shown itself to have been intellectually and militarily docile in the face of foreign aggression century after century. With the entire Muslim world under virtual colonisation of the West after the debacle of the Turkish caliphate, and considerable weakening of the Persian Empire that struggled between Russian pressure exerted from the north and British protectorates to the south, it was the Muslim East—once a formidable power and a civilization—with a history and idiom of its own, that Iqbal invoked as a counterweight to western hegemony.....

Qasim A. Moini

Haqqani Al Qasmi, Tr.New Age Islam Edit Desk

Haqqani Al Qasmi

When Sir Syed
laid a great emphasis on philosophy and said that philosophy will be in our
right hand and science in our left hand, there was a great hue and cry because
he had raised this political voice in a very obscurantist society where
philosophy and logic were considered akin to atheism. To the community that had
the tradition of burning down the writings of Avicenna and Ikhwan us Safa, the
community that had punished Ibn-e-Habib with death for teaching philosophy, the
community which perpetrated grave atrocities on Fakhruddin Razi only because he
was a great philosopher, the community which forced the great philosopher
Ibn-e-Rushd into exile for ‘atheism’, the community that forced Mohammad Bin
Ahmad to remain out of his house for almost fifty years only because he was a
rationalist, the community which stones and immolates rationalists, speaking of
philosophy and science was not less than an atomic explosion. A Galileo could
not have taken birth in such an obscurantist society. In an atmosphere when the
Ash’aris and Ashraqis are in plenty, it was natural for the liberal, modernist
and radical concept of Sir Syed to come under fire. That’s why Sir Syed was
also called a Mutazilla.

Notwithstanding
all this, if a small section of Muslims of the time accepted Sir Syed, it can
be said to be a farsighted and liberal section and supporter of change. It can
be said that these Muslims were aware of the changes taking place in the world.
They had realized that if the Muslims did not change their attitude and outlook
with the changing times and did not confront the challenges of the contemporary
world, backwardness will be their destiny in every field…..

Azhar Mohammed K

To the Muslim
community Sir Syed Ahmed Khan was and is like the eye which weeps for the
suffering of any and every part of the body. The sufferings of the community
worried him. He took an oath to reform, educate and empower the Muslim
community and was successful to a great extent in implementing it despite
strong opposition from a section of the Muslim community which hated the
British and their language. ....

Kulbir Kaur

Kulbir Kaur

Farid’s Bani is
indicative of “Vairagya” — detachment from the false world which is only a
mirage. One has to “turn away” or to do “Tauba” from worldly desires. According
to him, the detached person is the wisest. He describes the true Faqir as the
one fully detached: “On the bank of pool in the moor, the swan has come to
alight. But he does not dip his beak to drink, He is eager to fly.”….

Sadia Dehlvi

Sadia Dehlvi

Abu Yazid of
Tayfur of Bistam, Iran, who lived in the 9th century, was popularly known as
Bayazid. He founded the “ecstatic” or “drunken” school of Sufism in Persia.
This “drunkenness” meant to be intoxicated with the love of God. This
expression did not go down well with the orthodoxy and they hounded him……

Dr Amineh Hoti

Single-handedly,
Sir Sayyid Ahmad Khan (1817 – 1898) led the Muslims of the Subcontinent towards
a modern Muslim identity. Inspired by his visit to the University of Cambridge
in England, he set up a University for Muslims in Aligarh. From this
institution came leaders, prime ministers, policy makers, historians,
scientists and so forth. In the colonial time when there was deep suspicion of
“the Other” especially after the bloodbath of 1857 when Muslims were being
persecuted some Muslims were distancing themselves from all that was foreign,
especially British education, Sir Sayyid Ahmad Khan encouraged Muslims to
progress and not to hold back but to educate themselves, learn English, and
develop better relations with the other in order to create deeper understanding
and better communication…..

Aiman Reyaz, New Age Islam

Aiman Reyaz, New Age Islam

Al-Farabi’s
philosophy is based on the teachings of Plato and Aristotle as they were
interpreted in the school of Baghdad in the tenth century. Like all writers in
Arabic he assumed there were no essential differences between the two, but he
preferred the metaphysics of Aristotle, as interpreted by Neo-Platonist. He
uses a Neo-platonic emanationist theory crafted within the structure of
Ptolemaic cosmology to account for God’s power of creation. However, God, or
the First Being (al-Awwal), does not, like “the One” of the ancient philosopher
Plotinus….

Tariq Ramadan

Tariq Ramadan

God had once more tested the Prophet (peace be upon him) through his humanity and his mission. He had lost so many loved ones- companions, his wife Khadijah, three of his daughters, and his sons. His life had been crossed with tears, but he remained both gentle with his heart and firm in his mission. It was this chemistry of gentleness and firmness that satisfied the Most Near.....

Sadia Dehlvi

Sadia Dehlvi

Deeply influenced by the spiritual philosophy of Hazrat Nizamuddin, Khusrau believed in affection and respect between people of various faiths. He wrote of his love for Hindustan, its fruits, vegetables, trees, animals and birds, likening it to paradise….

S. Wie

In his youth,
Dara came into contact with numerous Sufis and Bhaktas, some of whom exercised
a profound influence on him. The most noted among these was Hazrat Miyan Mir
(d.1635 C.E.), a Qadri Sufi of Lahore whose disciple he later became. Hazrat
Miyan Mir is best remembered for having laid the foundation-stone of the Golden
Temple of the Sikhs at Amritsar. After Dara was initiated into the Qadri Sufi
order, which he describes in his Risala-i-Haq Numa as ‘the best path of
reaching Divinity’, he came into contact with several other mystics of his day,
Muslim as well as Hindu, including Shah Muhibullah, Shah Dilruba, Shah Muhammad
Lisanullah Rostaki, Baba Lal Das Bairagi, and Jagannath Mishra. Dara’s close
and friendly interaction with them led him to seek to highlight the essential
sameness or oneness of Sufism and Hindu mysticism......

Misbahul Huda, New Age Islam

Misbahul Huda, New Age Islam

Even more than 700 years after his demise, his shrine is a symbol of inter-faith love and harmony. Today deviant and extremist Islamic groups are engaged in terror and wanton killings of innocent civilians in the false pretext of spreading Islam and compelling them to change the religion on gun point. They should take lesson from Gharib Nawaz’s concept of inclusive Islam and his peaceful method of preaching.....

Sadia Dehlvi

Sadia Dehlvi

The Uwaisi form of spiritual transmission in vocabulary of Islamic mysticism was named after Uwais Quarni, as it refers to the transmission of spiritual knowledge between two individuals without the need for physical interaction between them. The story of Hazrat Uwaiz remains a favourite amongst Sufi circles. Sometimes the Messenger of God would turn in the direction of Yemen and say: “I perceive the fragrance of love from Yemen,” referring to the presence of a great lover of God living in that region......

Dr Amineh Ahmed Hoti

Dr Amineh Ahmed Hoti

South Asia, particularly the Sub-Continent region, is home to a stunning array of diverse groups, languages, and cultures. At times living in complete harmony, at others, as in recent times with mercurial levels of tolerance leading to escalating violence, unfortunately meted out to individual properties and lives. …..

Sadia Dehlvi

Sadia Dehlvi

Prophet Muhammad entrusted his mystic heritage to Hazrat Ali famously saying, “I am the city of knowledge and Ali is its gate”. Hazrat Ali is universally recognised as the leader of the Wali’s, Sufis, the Friends of Allah. The Prophet also said, “Man Kunto Maula va Ali un Maula”. These words are known as Qaul, and inscribed on the walls of numerous Sufi spaces. Hazrat Amir Khusrau set this prophetic saying to a classical Raag, and most Sama Mahfils, musical assemblies traditionally begin with a rendition of the Qaul......

Dr. Ali Al-Ghamdi

Dr. Ali Al-Ghamdi

The stranded Pakistanis have twice made great sacrifices. Firstly, when they abandoned their wealth, property, friends and relatives in India and migrated to East Pakistan during the partition of the Subcontinent, and secondly when they stood with the Pakistan army to protect the unity of Pakistan during the period of secession of East Pakistan and formation of the new state of Bangladesh. As a result of their position against secession, they were subjected to killing, looting and displacement…..

Rohail Khan

Allama Iqbal encouraged the younger generation for fresh interpretation of Quran and the Sunnah and discovers mutual harmonies that would enable Muslims to learn modern science and use science and technology to improve their material existence…..

Sadia Dehlvi

Sadia Dehlvi

Muslim mystics and Sikh Gurus were affectionate and respectful towards one another. Mian Mir often travelled to Amritsar to meet Guru Arjun Dev and whenever the Guru visited Lahore, he met the Sufi. The quest for God united Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs….

S. Irfan Habib

S. Irfan Habib

Muslims made India their home centuries ago, and according to Azad, they had a huge stake in the idea of India. However, Azad’s idea received a jolt in 1947 as the violence of partition ravaged India. Azad went on to live for another ten years, helping in healing and rebuilding the scarred and bruised new India. Azad lived many lives....